Heat sealed handbag frame



June 11, 1963 N. KAHN 3,093,176

HEAT SEALED HANDBAG FRAME Filed July 17, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V ENTOR.

i. NATHANIEL KAHN June 11, 1963 N. KAHN HEAT SEALED HANDBAG FRAME 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 17, 1961 l 17/ a II k\\ \n INVENTOR. NATHANIELKAHN BY W United States Patent G 3,093,176 HEAT SEALED HANDBAG FRAMENathaniel Kalm, 337 Snyder Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. Filed July 17, 1961,Ser. No. 124,599 6 Claims. (Cl. 150-29) This invention relates to animproved handbag construction.

Heretofore ladies handbags and purses have been made by attaching a bodyformed from a flexible sheet to a frame having hinged parts. Theseframes having generally been made of wood or metal. When a plastic sheetis used for the body of a handbag or purse having a metal or wood frame,it has been necessary to rivet, staple, or cement the plastic sheet tothe frame. During use, the plastic sheet often tears loose from thefastening means such as rivets, eyelets, staples, stitching or cement,rendering the handbag unusable. A further objection to the use ofconventional fasteners in handbag construction has been the time andlabor required to attach individual fasteners. This has required costlyhand labor, which resulted in low production rates and high productioncost.

The principal object of the present invention is to overcome thedifficulties and disadvantages of prior handbag construction andmanufacturing methods and to provide an improved structure in which thehandbag frame includes a plastic core to which the plastic body isintegrally fused and bonded thereto by thermal means.

A further object is to provide an improved handbag construction asdescribed with a metal or plastic frame set over the plastic core, theframe being exposed, or covered with plastic material bonded thereto.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a handbag embodying the invention, thehandbag being shown in open position.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on line 2--2of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of a portion of thehandbag, taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a frame core in open position,shown with an associated frame cover.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of still another frame core, shown on areduced scale.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, showing constructionalfeatures of a handbag employing the frame core of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a frame cover which may be used with thecore of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but on a larger scale,showing constructional features of another handbag.

In FIGS. *1, 2 and 3 is shown a handbag 10 having a bag body 12 formedof plastic sheet material. The handbag is provided with a rigid framecore -1'5 shown to best advantage in FIGS. 3 and 4. The frame coreincludes two rectan-gularly U-shaped core members 16 hinged together atthe ends of their legs 17 by short link 20. The links fit in slots 22formed in the ends of the legs 17. Pins 24 extend through the ends ofthe legs and engage the links.

The free edges 21 of the bag body 12 at top and ends of the handbag arewound around the frame core and are bonded thereto by heat welding,dielectric heating or the like. The body 12 and the frame core are bothpreferably formed of thermoplastic material so that the "ice body andcore will bond permanently to each other when heat is properly applied.Over the core members 16 covered and enclosed in the body edge portions21 are individual frame covers 23. Each frame cover, as best shown inFIG. 4, is a generally U-shaped channel memher with a groove 25 whichsnugly receives the core. An inturned flange 28 is formed around theinner side 29 of each frame cover; see FIGS. 2 and 3. This flangeengages the inner edge of the covered core and holds the frame coverthereon. Clasp elements 30* are provided on the top edges of the framecovers 23- for mutual engagement to hold the handbag closed. The ends ofthe handbag body may be sealed by thermally bonded seams 33.

In FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 is illustrated another handbag construction in whichthe rigid core 15 has U-shaped core members 16 which are round in crosssection rather than rectangular as illustrated for core members 16. Thecore members '16 are slotted at 22 and receive links 2% in the slots,secured by pins 24. The edge 21 of the handbag body 12' extends aroundeach core member and is bonded thereto as shown in FIG. 6. The U-shapedframe cover 23 is s'loted longitudinally and encloses each core member16*. The cover is cylindrically curved in cross section as shown inFIGS. 6 and 7, and the core member 16 fits snugly in cylindrical groove25 The core member 16 is made of plastic material but could be made ofmetal as is illustrated for cover members 23. Core member 16 may befused to edge 21 of the bag body.

In FIG. 8 is shown a further handbag construction in which thechannel-shaped frame cover 23 is made of thermoplastic material and iscovered by a stripof thermoplastic sheet material 35 thermally bonded tocover 23 and edge 21 In this construction the same color and texture ofplastic sheeting may be employed for material 35 as is employed for theplastic body 12 The edge 21 of body 12 is wound around the rectangularthermoplastic core 16 and heat-sealed thereto as described for cores 16and body 12. Flange 28 on inner side A9 of cover 23 may be provided toretain the cover on core 16".

The channel-shaped cover members may be made of metal or plastic asillustrated in the drawing, or of other materials. The cores may haverectangular, round or other shaped cross sections. The cores and framecovers may be other than U-shaped, depending on the handbag design. Theymay have straight or curved channel bars or have irregular longitudinaland/or transverse shapes, provided only that in cross section the shapesof the cores correspond with the shapes of the grooves in thechannel-shaped frame covers. The plastic frame covers may be integrallyfused to the thermoplastic edges of the bag body which are fused to thecore.

The invention makes it possible to fabricate handbags by automaticplastic heat-sealing machinery at high speed at low cost, withoutrequiring attachment of supplementary fastener elements such asstitching, rivets, eyelets, -and the like used heretofore. Hand labor isminimized and the resulting handbags are stronger and longer lastingthan those heretofore commercially available.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Uni-ted States Letters Patent 1. A handbag construction,comprising a flexible bag body made of flexible, thermoplastic sheetmaterial, said body having free edges, a rigid core made ofthermoplastic material, said core including two generally U- shaped coremembers hinged together at ends of their legs, said edges of the bodybeing wound around the core members and integrally fused thereto, and apair of generally U-shaped channels fitted over the U-shaped coremembers respectively, said core members being rectangular in crosssection and said channels being correspondingly rectangular in crosssection.

2. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made offlexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, arigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including twogenerally U- shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs,said edges of the body being wound around the core members andintegrally fused thereto, and a pair of generally U-shaped channelsfitted over the U-shaped core members respectively, said channels beingmade of thermoplastic material fused to the edges of the body woundaround the core members.

3. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made offlexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, arigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including twogenerally U- shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs,said edges of the body being wound around the core members andintegrally fused thereto, a pair of generally U-shaped channels fittedover the U-shaped core members respectively, and flexible stripscompletely covering the channels.

4. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made offlexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, arigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including twogenerally U- shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs,said edges of the body being wound around the core members andintegrally fused thereto, a pair of generally U-shaped channels fittedover the U-shaped core members respectively, and flexible stripscompletely 4 covering the channels, said channels and plastic stripsbeing formed of thermoplastic material integrally fused to each other.

5. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made offlexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, arigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including twogenerally U-shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs,said edges of the body being wound around the core members andintegrally fused thereto, a pair of generally U-shaped channels fittedover the U-shaped core members respectively, and flexible stripscompletely covering the channels, said channels and plastic strips beingformed of thermoplastic material integrally fused to each other, saidstrips being fused to said edges of the body.

6. A handbag construction, comprising a flexible bag body made offlexible, thermoplastic sheet material, said body having free edges, arigid core made of thermoplastic material, said core including twogenerally U- shaped core members hinged together at ends of their legs,said edges of the body being wound around the core members andintegrally fused thereto, and a pair of generally U-shaped channelsfitted over the U-shaped core members respectively, said core membersbeing rectangular in cross section and said channels beingcorrespondingly rectangular in cross section, said channels havingflanges at edges thereof to engage with adjacent edges of the coremembers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,899,960 Hartmann Mar. 7, 1933 1,919,333 Karron July 25, 1933 1,966,204Hiering July 10, 1934 2,028,216 Hiering Jan. 21, 1936 2,393,487 StorchJan. 22, 1946 2,435,870 Campos Feb. 10, 1948 2,682,905 Giordano July 6,1954 2,946,364 White July 26, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 764,329 France Mar.5, 1934

1. A HANDBAG CONSTRUCTION, COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE BAG BODY MADE OFFLEXIBLE, THERMOPLASTIC SHEET MATERIAL, SAID BODY HAVING FREE EDGES, ARIGID CORE MADE OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL, SAID CORE INCLUDING TWOGENERALLY USHAPED CORE MEMBERS HINGED TOGETHER AT ENDS OF THEIR LEGS,SAID EDGES OF THE BODY BEING WOUND AROUND THE CORE MEMBERS ANDINTEGRALLY FUSED THERETO, AND A PAIR OF GENERALLY U-SHAPED CHANNELSFITTED OVER THE U-SHAPED CORE MEMBERS RESPECTIVELY, SAID CORE MEMBERSBEING RECTANGULAR IN CROSS SECTION AND SAID CHANNELS BEINGCORRESPONDINGLY RECTANGULAR IN CROSS SECTION.